My simple win!

As from my last post you might have been able to tell that things aren't going so well for us. It seems like everyday we receive more bills and more bad news. Well, anyway today I had a simple win. Not a cure all, but a simple win.
It all started a year ago when we moved into our house. We got our first bill for the HOA and on it was the due date of October 08. Well, in September we got a late notice. Needless to say I was pretty angry. I tried calling them several times, but I got no response. So, I just paid it and moved on. Well, right after the baby was born the bill came due, but in the craziness of everything, i forgot about it. Well, we received another late notice. I thought 'no big deal, I'll pay it with our next pay check. That was really dumb of me.' Anyway, when the next paycheck came I wrote the check and stuck it in the mail. As the mail lady took it, she handed me another letter from them saying I owed another 25.00 for association fees and that if I didn't pay within 30 days I would have a lien put on my house. I was angry. They wouldn't have had a problem with me being late if it was the first time. And technically it was. Anyway, after trying to call them again and getting no response, I paid the bill and wrote them a not so nice email, in a nice way, that basically said that I wanted a refund of my first late fee and the 25.00 I just sent. Well, I got an email this morning. (finally a response!!!) They are crediting my account for both late fees and the 25.00. Now, my account will be in good standing. Thank you Amy at cmc management. I'm so glad I got a response. Plus when times are so tough, $45.00 makes a huge difference. What a way to make my day!

Tough times!

Wow times seem to be getting tougher and tougher. As many of you know, awhile ago Michaels work told them that there would no longer be overtime. Well, we pretty much lived off of overtime, especially because Michael would get at least 3 hours every day. Well, we cut some expenses and seemed to do ok for awhile, but things have been going crazy. It seems that I get new bills everyday. Plus, the car keeps breaking down and we're paying to get it fixed. And, we were trying so hard to get out of debt. Sometimes I think we are being tested to make sure that we're learning our lesson, plus so we can gain some more compassion. Are you all having the same problems? I guess we all could use a little more compassion and understanding.
But I guess I have some good news. About 3-4 weeks ago Owen had an Endoscopy and we found out that he had GERD. We also found out that he had a sort of yeast infection in his throat. He's been on medication yet, and it seems like this last week he's been feeling much better. He now wants to eat all the time. I have to limit it sometimes because he would eat all day if he could. I don't know that he's gained weight yet, but I wouldn't be surprised. I hope that we've fixed the problem and that he grows like a normal boy. Yeah. Now if it wouldn't have cost so much to get here. I guess we'll do anything for our kids though.

Tuesdays with Electa

9 Weeks- You are one beautiful little girl. I can't believe how much you've grown. This week we went to the dr. You weigh in at 13lbs 3 oz. Although, daddy thinks they weighed you wrong. Your also 23 inches long. You are growing like a weed. You've been a little grouchy. I told the dr. that I thought you had reflux, so he gave us some medicine. Hopefully it will help.

10 weeks- You sure are growing. It seems that since you've been on that medicine you've been much happier. You are smiling more. It is so fun to watch my family grow. The other day Owen was watching Elmo and he wanted you to see it too. He said "Look girl, Elmo. Watch Elmo." It was so cute, because you were glad you were getting attention and just smiled at him. I hope you don't mind that he will be calling you Girl, or Baby cake. One day he'll know your name.

The Beach

Monday we took a day trip to Colonial Beach. Its about an hour and a half away from where we live. Its not the ocean. Its off of the Potomac River. You have to drive another couple of hours to get to the ocean. It was a lot of fun though. We played in the water and the sand and walked around the town a little bit. Owen loved it. Electa liked being outside, but she hated the water. I stuck her feet in it and she cried so hard. It took me about 5 minutes to calm her down. There were some houses there for sale that Michael and I would like to buy and make into a Bed and Breakfast. Oh, we would love to have a business like that. Maybe someday. Anyway enjoy the pics.

8 weeks

Well little angel girl, you've come so far in 8 weeks. Time sure flys fast. You are such a cutie, and although we have our ruff days, mostly they are good. I love you so much. You slept through the night for the first time. Well, 8 hours. I would like you to sleep at least one more, but I'm sure you'll get there. Right now your waking up at 5:30 and unfortunatly its light by that time so you don't like to go back to sleep after I feed you. We'll get there in another couple of weeks. I hope. I love you and your cute smile!

Cloth Diapers

Well, many of you have asked me how my cloth diapering is going, so I thought I would blog about it. Well, I love it. I use these cute diapers from QT Bunns. A lady makes them and sells them on ebay and Etsy. If any of you are thinking of using cloth diapers, I would recommend them. No, I don't swish my hand in the toilet. In fact, because I am breastfeeding I just throw them in the washer, and most of the time they come clean. Sometimes when they seem a little stained I just hang them out to dry and by the time they are dry they are all clean. Its amazing.

Plus they are super soft, and I feel great about not putting so many disposables in the trash. Yes, my water bill has gone up a bit, but I hardly notice. Not a big change. I would really recommend it. It really isn't bad as you all think. I also use cloth wipes that I make up with a solution. Those are amazing too. IT only takes one, and I just throw those in the washer too. Plus, I really haven't had any problems with diaper rash. Really, all of you should try it out. If anyone wants her name, or contact info, let me know!